Private jets are often thought of as the ultimate boy’s toy, the next step up after the Ferrari in the garage. Increasingly, however, private flyers are women who are not lured so much by that prestige factor as by the efficiencies offered by private air travel. The New York Times business travel columnist Joe Sharkey has an interesting piece for his “On The Road” feature today on exactly this subject. According to Sharkey, the time-savings of private jets are the primary motivator for a new crop of female flyers.

The increasing numbers of female flyers is echoed by a broader turn within an industry that is often thought of more in terms of extravagance than efficiency. While the recent economic slowdown may have more or less bypassed the private jet class, it has had the effect of sobering affluent consumers from making large purchases strictly in the name of luxury. The very wealthy are still buying, they just need a better reason than that it feels good to do so. Earlier this year, fractional provider Bombardier Flexjet launched a major new marketing campaign seeking to play down the “Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous” aspect of private jet travel. Instead the ads promote private jet travel as a rational decision motivated more by the bottom line than by the ego.

For consumers interested in learning more about their options, the facts and not the fluff, we recommend our Decision Guide to Private Jet Travel.